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Data Privacy Day: What it is and why you should celebrate it

Data Privacy Day gives us the perfect opportunity to reflect on the state of online privacy — and to consider how we can improve it. In this article, we will discuss the importance of Data Privacy Day, explore the various ways you can celebrate it, and outline what you can do to protect your privacy in your everyday life.

Jan 23, 2025

7 min read

What is Data Privacy Day? Should we celebrate it?

What is Data Privacy Day?

Data Privacy Day (or Data Protection Day) is a special occasion dedicated to raising awareness about data protection. The idea for a privacy-oriented world-wide event was conceived on January 28, 1981, when the Council of Europe opened Convention 108 (the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data) for signatures, but the first true Data Privacy Day only took place in 2007.

Its initiatives focus on business as well as individual consumers and raises awareness about the importance of protecting our personal information, especially when it comes to social networking. Various events and activities take place during the day that promote the individual control of personally identifiable information and compliance with privacy laws as well as initiate discussions between companies, academics, IT professionals, consumers, and other interested parties.

Currently, Data Privacy Day is observed in over 50 countries around the world, including most of Europe. In the United States, many organizations extend Data Privacy Day to a Data Privacy Week, a practice first introduced by the National Cybersecurity Alliance in 2021. 

What is the importance of Data Privacy Day?

The importance of Data Privacy Day lies in the awareness it brings to the issue: privacy is not only your fundamental right, but also an integral part of your digital health. This may not be apparent at first — with social media pushing us to share the minutiae of our private lives every day, you’d think personal data has little value today. In fact, data is king.

In 2024, big business knows you better than you know yourself. Excessive collection of user data lets companies recreate an uncannily accurate digital profile of you, down to details like what you eat when you’re stressed or who you’re likely to vote for. Businesses use this information to build eerily accurate profiles for targeted advertising — but if they suffer a data breach, your sensitive data could be used for much, much worse.

The current situation proves that we must cherish our data privacy — and Data Privacy Day gives us the perfect opportunity to learn how we can protect it.

How you can celebrate Data Privacy Day

The best way to celebrate Data Privacy Day is to spread the good word. While many people instinctively feel that digital privacy is important, few can say why if pressed. Corporations and governments may exploit this lack of knowledge by claiming “legitimate interests” to further erode privacy protections. To safeguard your rights, use this Data Privacy Day to:

  • Educate yourself on privacy. A good place to start is to look into what your right to privacy is under the law. Different jurisdictions have different views on what personal information should be protected — and you may be surprised to find out that data you give away freely online, such as your age, is in fact very strictly regulated. If you’re willing to take the extra step, have a look at what human rights organizations have to say on this occasion and maybe even register for a Data Privacy Day event online.  
  • Go over the privacy settings of your accounts. Data Privacy Day is an excellent opportunity to explore the privacy options of your social media and forum profiles. Remember — once you’re done with the settings, you’ll benefit from increased privacy on that particular account forever.  
  • Take a minute to talk about it. You don’t need to organize workshops or speak at seminars to raise awareness — you can spread the good word with something as simple as a casual chat. Talking with your friends about privacy will keep the issue fresh in their minds, making them think twice the next time they’re presented with a cookie consent form.

Steps you should take to protect your privacy online

Fortunately, a little can do a whole lot when it comes to privacy. Here are just a few simple steps you should consider taking to protect your privacy online:

  • Use strong passwords so that no one can easily brute-force their way into accounts with sensitive data. And don’t forget to reinforce those accounts with multi-factor authentication (MFA) — that way, criminals won’t be able to break in even if they do manage to guess your password.  
  • Use social networks sparingly — take the time to learn about privacy issues in social media, always think twice before posting, and, as a general rule, never share private and confidential data on social networks. 
  • Use a VPN — it will encrypt your traffic and protect your IP address. With a VPN, all anyone monitoring your connection (including your internet service provider) sees is a stream of random gibberish. VPNs are especially important if you care about your privacy when using free public Wi-Fi hotspots, which are often vulnerable to abuse.
  • Don’t give away any of your personal data to people or services you don’t 100% trust. Always ask yourself if it’s really worth giving away your data for a service you sign up for — and if you’re having doubts, the answer is “no.”
  • Encrypt your sensitive data. Files stored on personal hard drives or even public cloud services are often left unencrypted, which means that they’re at the full disposal of anyone that manages to break in. By securing files with sensitive data using tools like NordLocker, you add another layer of protection to your private life. 
  • Learn to spot phishing emails and messages. Any details you divulge to phishers may be used for blackmail against you or further attacks against people you know. Always double check if the people sending the message really are who they say they are — and use reliable anti-phishing tools like Threat Protection Pro™ as a second line of defense.

How to incorporate data protection and privacy into your daily habits

Taking the time to shore up your online privacy on Data Privacy Day is a good start — but ultimately, good privacy protection depends on integrating healthy cybersecurity practices into your daily digital life. 

Again, you don’t need to drastically change your online habits to achieve tangible results. You don’t need to spend hours reading every privacy policy you come across to make sure there are no “gotcha!” moments in the fine print — but you should take a few seconds extra to untick “legitimate interests” boxes in cookie consent forms. 

Other useful personal cybersecurity tips include regularly updating your apps with the latest security patches, switching to messaging services that use end-to-end encryption, and subscribing to a personal data removal service like Incogni. Remember — just like personal hygiene, good cyber hygiene will make sure that you don’t give off a bad stink online. 

How Nord Security contributes to data protection

Nord Security values data privacy in a significant way, so Data Privacy Day is especially important to us. Our brightest minds work hard to come up with the best privacy-centric products and services to make your data as safe as possible from cybercriminals and prying eyes.

We also regularly support various initiatives, activists and organizations fighting for data protection and a more private and transparent online world, such as AccessNow, The World Wide Web Foundation, and various educational institutions.

We strongly believe that privacy is not a luxury – it is a fundamental right. And it should be the default rather than achievable only by customizing our apps.

Online security starts with a click.

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Petras Borisovas

Petras Borisovas takes his online privacy and internet security seriously. When not fending off attempts to intrude into his private life, Peter enjoys sci-fi, gaming, and collecting odd bits of trivia.